Compressed air energy storage system reservoir size for a wind energy baseload power plant
Wind generated electricity can be transformed from an intermittent to a baseload resource using an oversized wind farm in conjunction with a compressed air energy storage (CAES) system. The size of the storage reservoir for the CAES system (solution mined salt cavern or porous media) as a function of the wind speed autocorrelation time (C) has been examined using a Monte Carlo simulation for a wind class 4 (wind power density 450 W m{sup -2} at 50 m hub height) wind regime with a Weibull k factor of 2.5. For values of C typically found for winds over the US Great Plains, the storage reservoir must have a 60 to 80 hour capacity. Since underground reservoirs account for only a small fraction of total system cost, this larger storage reservoir has a negligible effect on the cost of energy from the wind energy baseload system. 7 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 447494
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960630--; ON: DE97002833
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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